Unexpectedly, Spotify boosts record sales

Mumford & Sons broke the 2012 debut week sales record with help from exposure from Spotify. (Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images)

Mumford & Sons’ newest album “Babel” broke every debut week record for 2012, selling about 600,000 copies in the U.S.

And, as the Los Angeles Times reported this week, the English folk band pulled this off not by running away from online music streaming sites, like Spotify, that were traditionally thought to reduce sales, but by embracing them.

In addition to beating out the 2012 albums of mega-stars like Justin Bieber in sales numbers, Mumford & Sons’ second album has also been streamed more than 8 million times on Spotify, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Spotify, which has more than 15 million users worldwide, provides free music streaming that is supported by ad revenue, in addition to paid subscription plans that get rid of the ads and give users unlimited access.

Many bands, like Coldplay, have chosen not to put their albums on Spotify directly after a release, in fear that such easy access would hurt sales. But although Mumford & Sons’ success isn’t a complete answer to what online streaming means for the music industry, it is some indication that things are changing.

“Spotify is a huge form of exposure, and they’re not stealing,” Daniel Glass, founder of Glassnote Records, which released “Babel,” told the LA Times. “It’s retraining people to buy music through streaming services. Could we be getting better compensation? Yes, but I’m not going to hold it back from them. That’s old thinking.”